Machine for operating on soles



Feb. 20, 1951 s. AzzARA 2,542,614

MACHINE Foa OPERATING oN soLEs I Filed June 14, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 2o, 1951 s. Amm' 2,542,614

MACHINE FOR OPERATING 0N SOLES #MMS N57 i/ 45g @SWE O TfOENEY Feb. 20, 1951 s. AzzARA 2,542,614

MACHINE FOR OPERATING ON SOLES Filed June 14. 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 20, 1 951 MACHINE FOR OPERATING N SOLES Y Santo Azzara, deceased, late of Queens Village, N. Y., by Catherine Azzara, executrix, Queens Village, N. Y., assignor of fty per cent to Andrew Geller, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 14, 1947, Serial No. 754,609 'c claims. Y(01.164-19) This invention relates to a machine for operating upon soles, and has for its principal object the provision of a machine. formed with novel cutting knives which accurately cut the breasting portion for the front wall of the heel of a ladys shoe.

In ladies shoes of the better variety it has been the practice to split the leather in the heel portion of the sole, secure the upper layer formed by the splitting operation to the lasted shoe, then aix the heel to the lower surface of this upper layer, and then cut the lower layer to size and adhesively secure it to the front wall of the heel. This leather cover or breasting gives the heel a much more attractive and finished appearance than an unbreasted heel.

Forming the heel in this fashion involves a number of hand steps .which necessarilyU areslow and add to the cost of the shoe.V It is first necessary to manually hold the uncut breasting portion to the front wall of the heel and trace its contour by outlining the shape of the. heel as with a pencil or other mark-producing instrumentality. The breasting portion is then manually cut with a knife, which is awkward since instantly adjusted relative to each other.

the presence of the. previously attached heel limits the amount of available space. surfaces of the edges must then be appropriately skived, which is difficult, also due to the lack of space, and the breasting portion then adhesively secured to the heel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cutting machine formed with cutting knives which accurately cut the breasting portion, regardless of sizeof the shoe, while the sole is held in exact location on a'work support;

The machine of the present invention thus has two important cooperating parts, one a work support provided with improved means; rst, for accurately positioning the sole, regardless of size, thereon, and second, for securing the sole immovable in such position 'during the cutting operation. The second partis a novel knife supa heel'of a size corresponding to the sole be-A tweenthe'ngers and moving them to engage` ment with the heel, the,knivesareproperlyandi The inner.

They are then secured in this adjusted position.

AA common punch press or other suitable mechanism may be provided for moving the knife support to cutting position relative to the sole, the knives being arranged to pass through the breasting portion but not through the balance of the heel portion. Except for a little skiving which is simple since the heel is not inthe way, the sole is now ready to be applied and the heel breasted.

The machine of the present invention is thus simple in construction and operation, and may beused by a person of only limited skill. over, the finished results are superior to those produced by the multi-step manual breasting operation.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a, front elevation of an embodiment 0f the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a broken side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 5. l

Fig. 5 is a broken vertical section taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a broken vertical section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the knife sup-v port.

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the work support, the view showing the operating levers in superimposed relationship.

Fig. 9 is a broken view similar to Fig. 8 but showing one set of such levers.

Fig. 10 shows the other set of such levers.

Fig. l1 is a broken vertical section taken on une l 1 1 1 einig. 9.

Fig. l2 is a broken vertical section taken on ing the cutting knife support into cutting position This may comrelative to the work support. prise a pair of spaced frame elements lli and Il which are provided with forward extensions I2A at their lower ends, such frame elements being mounted on a base I3. At their upper ends the frame elements form a bearing for a shaft I4,

provided with an eccentric or crank portion I5.

Moref An enlarged terminal portion I6 of the shaft is provided with an annular recess I 1 within which is positioned a suitable one-revolution clutch element I8 which is arranged to connect shaft I4 with a flywheel I9 mounted thereon. The clutch may be actuated by any7 suitable manually-controlled means, such as a hand or foot lever (not shown), and iiywheel I9 is arranged to be driven by a belt (not shown) or any other suitable driving means connected with an electric motor or other prime mover. A pitman 22 is carried on eccentric I5, the pitman being connected, as at 24, to a vertically-reciprocating head 25 which is provided with vertical splines 26 which are arranged to move in trackways 21 mounted on the frame elements.

The cutting knives 3| and 32 may usually have the contour shown in Fig. 7 and are arranged, when they descend through operation of the press, to form the heel breast flap 33 at the heel portion of the sole 34 shown in Fig. 13. In accordance with the present invention the sole is first split inwardly from its heel portion, thus providing an upper heel portion 35 which is affixed to the shoe, and the lower portion 33 which, when cut in the manner described, forms the breasting portion which is applied to the front wall of the heel. Breasting portion 33 is narrower at its outer or lower end 35, and wider at its inner or upper end 31, thus conforming to the exact contour of such front wail of the heel. Cutting knives or dies 3| and 32 are arranged to out a predetermined depth in the sole 34 when mounted on the work support, i. e., through the breast iiap 33 but not through the heel seat 35.

Cutting knives 3l and 32 may be integrally formed on blocks 4I and 42, respectively, which are affixed to slides 43 and 44, respectively, which move toward and away from each other in accordance with the exact size of the heel breast flap which is to be cut from the sole. Means for supporting slides 43 and 44 comprise a block 45 mounted at the lower end of head 25. On the lower surface of block 45 is a plate 46 which, in turn, carries a plate 41 on its lower surface. Plate 41 provides slideways 5I for slides 43 and 44. lThese slides have the contour shown in Fig. '1 and are arranged to provide sufficient clearance therebetween to permit such slides to move toward and away from each other a predetermined extent. They are arranged for conjoint movement by means of a lever 52 which is pivotally mounted at 53 on the lower surface of plate 46. Slides 43 and 44 have extension portions 54 and 55, respectively, which carry pins 56 and 51 which are located in slots 58 and 59 in transverse extension 63 of lever 52. A plate 64 having a conveXlycurved edge 65 is suitably mounted on the lower surface of plate 41. An inward extension portion 66 of lever 52 overlays the upper surface of plate 04 and is arranged to engage the plate by means of a thumb screw 61 to hold lever 52 in any predetermined position.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that when lever 52 is moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, cutting knife 32 will move to the right, and cutting knife 3I will move to the left, thus increasing the width of the breasting portion 33 which is to be cut. Opposite movement of the lever causes the cutting knives to converge, thus reducing the width of the breasting portion. The position to which the cutting knives are to be moved in any given instance is determined by a heel gauge comprising fingers or sensing elements 1I and 12 mounted on the upper surface of plate 46. These elements have extensions which pass downwardly through openings 13 in plate 46, and which are suitably connected with extensions 54 and 55 of slides 43 and 44, respectively. In Fig. 5 a heel 14 is shown in broken lines inserted between sensing elements 1I and 12. Thus, to properly position the cutting knives with respect to any given heel size, the heel is inserted, as indicated, and the sensing elements 1I and 12 then moved until they touch the heel through operation of lever 52, at which time thumb screw 61 is tightened and the cutting knives are properly positioned for the cutting operation,

The work support or sole platen 19 consists of a fiat plate which is mounted on a support 80 carried on the forward end of front, lower frame extension I2. By referring to Fig. 4 it will be noted that there are provided a pair of pins or fingers B4 disposed within diagonal slots 85 in work suppo1't115l.` These pins are arranged to be moved to a predetermined position, depending upon the size of the sole which is being operated upon. After these pins have been conjointly moved to such predetermined fixed position, two additional pairs of pins or ngers 86 and 61 disposed within transverse slots 88 are moved in wardly to hold the sole in position during the cutting operation. Movement of pins 84 is controlled by lever 90 pivotally mounted at 9I on the lower surface of the work support. Movement of pins 86 and 81 is controlled by leverA 92 pivotally mounted at 93, also on the lower surface of the work support.

Referring first to lever 90 it will be noted that work support 19 has a curved edge section 94 having graduations 95. The lever is further provided with an inward extension 96 having a pointer, the extension being arranged to clamp the lever 90 in any predetermined position by meansv of tightening thumb screw 91. Referring now to Fig. l0 it will be noted that lever 90 has an angular extension IOI provided with a slot |02. Within this slot a pin ID3 is disposed, such pin being mounted on an extension I04 on reciprocating lever |05. At its opposite end lever |05 is connected by means of pins |06 to links I01 which carry pins 84 at their outer ends. It will thus be seen that as lever 90 is moved arcuately, lever I 05 is moved longitudinally, and pins 84 are therefore moved in slots 85.

Referring now to lever 92 is will be seen from Fig. 4 that the work support is provided with a second arcuate edge III, and an inner extension II2 of lever 92 having a pointer is urged into frictional engagement with the work support by means of a thumb screw II3. Lever 92 carries a Din II6 which is movable in a slot II1 in an extension IIB on a second longitudinally-movable lever I2I. Links |22 which carry pins 86 and 81 at their outer ends are pivotally connected with lever I2I by means of pivot pins 123. Levers I05 and I2! are provided with longitudinal slots |25 through which screws I26 pass to limit movementof such levers to straightline reciprocating motion when they are respectively independently moved by levers 00 and 92.

The operation of the device will be largely clear from the foregoing description. If, for instance, a size 'Z sole is to be operated upon. a size 7 heel, shown at 14 in Fig. 5 is rst placed between lingers 'Il and 12, and lever 52 then moved until such lingers engage the opposed sides of heel 14.v Thumb screw 61 then tightened, and the cutting knives 3| and 32 are locked in their adjusted, fixed position. Lever 9|] is then moved to properly position pins 84 with respect to a soleA of size?. The sole is then placed upon the work support 19 with its forward end touching pins 813.n Lever 92 is now moved to cause pins 88 andl to move inwardly until they firmly engage the opposedv sides of the sole. Clutch l1 next is manipulated to cause reciprocating head 25 and the knife support carried at its lower end to move in the direction of the work and thus cut the breasting portion 33. The inner surfaces of marginal edges 36 and 31 may, if desired, be skived by any suitable means, and the sole is now ready to be applied to the lasted shoe. Next, the heel is secured in place and the heel breast f'lap 33 then adhesively secured to the front wall of such heel.

While one form or embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction and arrangement incidental to a specific application thereof have been disclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangement of parts, nor to its specific embodiment shown herein, but that extensive deviations from the illustrated form or embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for operating on soles for cutting a heel breast flap from the heel portion of the sole, such machine comprising a work support, a pair of cutting knives, and a cutting knife support arranged to be moved toward and away from the sole mounted on the work support, the work support being generally fiat and being provided with a plurality of diagonally movable pins arranged to be manually moved to an adjusted, fixed position in accordance with the size of the sole being operated upon, such pins engaging the forward portion of such sole, and a plurality of manually-movable, sole-securing pins arranged to hold the sole in cutting position, the knife support including a pair of knife-carrying blocks arranged for conjoint movement toward and away from each other to an adjusted, fixed position to vary the width of such breasting portion, and stop means limiting cutting action of the knives to the thickness of the breast fiap.

2. A machine for operating on soles for cutting a heel breast flap at the heel portion of the sole, such machine comprising a work support, a pair of spaced cutting knives having the contour of the opposed edges of said breasting portion, and a cutting knife support arranged to be moved toward and away from the sole mounted on the work support, the work support being generally flat and being provided with a plurality of spaced pins which are movable to an adjusted, fixed position in accordance with the size of the sole being operated upon, such pins engaging the forward portion of such sole, and a plurality ofk sole-securing pins which are movable toward and away from the side edges of the sole to hold the sole in cutting position, a manually-movable lever controlling movement of the former pins and a second manually-movable lever controlling movement of the latter pins, the knife support including a pair of knife-carrying blocks arranged for conjoint, manually-controlled movement toward and away from each other, and heel-engaging fingers carried by such blocks which gauge the positioning of the cutting knives.

3. A machine for operating on soles for cutting a'heel `breast flap at the heel portion of the sole from a split heel, such machine comprising a work support, a pair of cutting knives, and a cutting knife support arranged to be moved toward and awayfrom the sole mounted on thework support, the work support being generally fiat and being provided with means for positioning and securing in such position the sole during the cutting operation, the knife support including a pair of knife-carrying blocks arranged for conjoint movement toward and away from each other to an adjusted, fixed position, and means for determining such position comprising spaced fingers carried by, and which are movable with, said blocks and arranged to receive a heel therebetween.

4. A machine for operating on soles for cutting a heel breast fiap at the heel portionv of the sole from' a split heel, such machine comprising a Work support, a pair of cutting knives, and a cutting knife support arranged to be moved toward and away from the sole mounted on the work support, the Work support being generally fiat and being provided with a plurality of diagonally movable pins arranged to be manually moved to an adjusted, fixed position in accordance with the size of the sole being operated upon, such pins engaging the forward portion of such sole, and a plurality of manually-movable, sole-securing pins arranged to hold the sole in cutting position, the knife support including a pair of knife-carrying blocks arranged for conjoint, manually-controlled movement toward and away from each other, and heel-engaging fingers carried by such blocks which gauge the positioning of the cutting knives.

l 5. A machine for operating on soles for cutting a heel breast flap at the heel portion of the sole, such machine comprising a work support, a pair of cutting knives, and a cutting knife support arranged to be moved toward and away from the sole mounted on the work support, the work support being generally fiat and being provided with a plurality of sole positioning fingers movable to adjusted fixed positions in accord-` ance with the size of the sole being operated upon, such fingers engaging the forward portion of such sole, and a plurality of movable,

sole-securing fingers arranged to hold the sole in cutting position, the knife support including a pair of knife-carrying blocks arranged for conjoint, manually-controlled movement toward and away from each other, and heel engaging fingers carried by such blocks which gauge the positioning of the cutting knives.

6. A machine for operating on soles for cutting a heel breast flap from a split heel portion of the sole, such machine comprising a work support, plural cutting knives, andv a cutting knife support arranged to be moved toward the sole mounted on the work support, and stop means limiting such movement to cause the knives to cut through the breast flap but not through the heel seat, the work support being generally flat and being provided with plural sole positioning ngers which are movable to an adjusted fixed position in accordance with the size of the sole being operated upon, and a plurality of manually-movable, sole-securing fingers arranged to be moved towardand away from the opposed side edges of the sole to hold the sole during the cutting operation, the knife support including a pair of knife-carrying blocks arranged for conjoint, manually-controlled movement toward and away from each other and a 7 gauge comprising movable sensing ngersassof ciated with such blocks ,for determining the positioning ofthe cutting knives.

CATHERINE AZZARA, Eecutra: of the Estate of Santo Assam, 5

Deceased.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

Number 8 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Rich Oct. 21, 1890 Angel Sept. 6, 1921 Sanchioni July 6, 1937 Bastable Sept. 21, 1943 Sabo Jan. 30, 1945 

